Inside Behati Prinsloo Levine’s Beauty Routine

You might think a Victoria’s Secret Angel and rockstar wife to Adam Levine would be exempt from the painful perils of skin problems, but in the case of Behati Prinsloo Levine, you’d be wrong. “I tend to have pretty dry skin,” Levine says, “and I’m always looking for a product to help lock in the moisture and just kind of give me that that extra boost.”

As the newest face of the Japanese beauty company SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence, the Namibia-born model is promising to end dry skin on a global scale. In an intimate series of videos set to debut today through her social feeds, Prinsloo Levine will announce the company’s #OneBottleAwayFrom campaign. Below, we speak with the 28-year-old supermodel about her favorite beauty looks, how being a mom has impacted her selection of products and what makes SK-II’s different.

Is there one thing you keep in mind when you’re getting ready for an appearance?

I think one thing that I always keep in mind for an appearance is radiance. Trying to get my skin to be radiant and moisturized because that’s when I think it looks the best – when it kind of looks like you’ve been drinking so much water that your skin is radiating. That’s always what I try to do and that’s actually why I love the SK-II facial masks. They’re so great because they do make me look plump and moisturized and like I drank just enough water.

Was there ever one beauty look you wore for an appearance or an event that’s your favorite?

I was on “Watch What Happens Live” a while ago and every time I see it, I’m like, “oh my hair and makeup was on point.” I really loved the look that time.

Do you remember who did it?

It was my friend and team I work with all the time: Bryce Scarlett was doing my hair and Carolina Gonzalez was doing my makeup, and it’s funny because whenever we’re together I’m like, “Guys remember that spot, I want to look like that again.” I think on some people when they have almost no makeup, no eye, but just a beautiful red lip, I think that’s so pretty as well. I think it’s very classic and effortless. I feel like there was another one that I loved my hair and makeup–maybe the 2015 Golden Globes look.

Other than SK-II’s Facial Essence, what’s another essential that you absolutely need to have in your daily routine?

In general I always love to have a good lip balm with me. I always travel with an oil-free SPF. I love the Control Corrective brand. I’ve been rebuying it. What I thought was super clever is that the SK-II Facial Essence comes in a spray bottle for traveling, which I love to take with me. Like rose water spray, I love to spray something on when I’m on a plane. That’s really handy to lock in that moisture again and give me that extra glow. And I always have an eyelash curler. It makes such a difference, even if you don’t have mascara.

In looking into SK-II’s Essence, I was really intrigued by the fact that it’s made of 90% Pitera, an ingredient in yeast that speeds up the skin’s natural rejuvenation process. Did you know about this beforehand or do you normally place a lot of weight on the ingredients that your beauty products are made up of?

It’s actually so funny because before I even knew I was going to work with them, I read somewhere (probably in a beauty column or beauty something) about how SK-II was discovered in a sake brewery in Japan 35 years ago. The hands of the men and women who worked in the sake brewery were preserved by the Pitera and I was like, “Wow, this is so cool.” It’s such an interesting story. Ingredients in a product are really important, especially when I was pregnant. I was really cautious of using anything that has too many chemicals or is too perfume-y. I love organic things and I love when it really comes from nature and I think that SK-II really, really…it’s 90% pure Pitera, which is pretty crazy.

And I’m sure once you become a mom you’re especially careful about the products that you use. Is that a factor or influence in the way that you approach your routine now?

For sure. I just had my daughter and I was breastfeeding and I was even really cautious of putting moisturizers on my body. It’s never been something I’ve really thought about until, you’re like, “this is going to go into her system too,” so I was really careful about what I used. Now that I’ve stopped breastfeeding, she’s always on top of me and always touching me and I always want to use something organic. That’s now just part of my life so I’ll never veer from it.

You start thinking about not just yourself in that respect, you’re definitely thinking about how what you put on your body affects the child.

Yeah, exactly. I think we sometimes have misinformation, you start hearing that everybody is using that…what is that? It’s not like a peel, it’s like a chemical thing and everyone’s like, “oh it’s amazing” and you start using it not knowing what’s in it and later you find out and are like, “Wow, it’s got crazy stuff in it.” You would never put it on your skin if you knew, so I’m very cautious of what I do use.

What do you think fans would be most surprised to learn about your beauty routine or the way you go about skincare?

Beauty is not always just about what’s on the outside. Beauty is about confidence. It’s about knowing that you’re an individual and that you’re one of a kind. Having that confidence is so important and that’s why I love the message of SK-II in this campaign. They really encourage women to be confident and to take on anything, even to change your destiny and your skin’s destiny. Everyone knows I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to my skincare regime, and I want to work on everyone’s inner beauty and inner confidence. We should be taking care of our skin instead of trying to look like someone else or be like someone else. I don’t think there’s one specific look for beauty; everyone’s beautiful in their own sense.